Deworming Recommendations

Many of you have called into the clinic to ask for the deworming schedule that was recommended on the previous website.  Dominion Equine Clinic is strongly recommending that everyone stop using a rotational deworming program.  This program is leading to significant parasite resistance and will ultimately lead to farms where horses are infected with parasites that no dewormer is able to kill.

In accordance with recent research and recommendations, we recommend that you base your deworming program on the results of fecal exams run on the horses on your farm.  The number of fecal exams recommended per year will depend on the risk category at your individual farm. A Dominion Equine Clinic veterinarian will review your fecal results and make a deworming recommendation that is tailored to your farm and your horses. In this way we can keep your horses and your pastures healthy, now and far into the future.  In addition, you will save money on deworming products due to the fact that you will be deworming low-risk horses much less frequently than with the traditional rotating program.

Farms testing more than 5 horses at a time will be eligable for special pricing on fecal exams.

A Dominion Equine Clinic veterinarian will be happy to discuss recommendations with you at any time, but in general you can place your horses into a risk category based on the following lists:

       Low Risk                                        Medium Risk                                           High Risk

       Middle-aged horses                            Middle-aged horses                      Young or geriatric horses

       Low numbers on property                 Low numbers on property             High numbers on property

       Minimal travel                                 Minimal to moderate travel            Moderate to frequent travel

       Manure is removed daily                   Manure is removed weekly            Infrequent manure removal

Low Risk horses may only need to be tested (and possibly dewormed) once or twice per year.  Medium Risk horses may need to be tested and dewormed 2-3 times per year.  High risk horses will still typically only require deworming every 3 months.  These are generalizations- we will give specific recommendations based on your farm and your horses.

We still recommend that all adult, full-sized horses receive Quest Plus once per year, but this product is dangerous and potentially deadly if a small animal is overdosed.  Therefore, we do not recommend the use of Quest Plus in foals less than 6 months of age, miniature horses, or small ponies.